Wireless communication networks are becoming increasingly common for interconnecting many types of electronic devices. Computer systems of all sizes, personal digital assistants, input/output devices, entertainment system components and other types of home appliances, are all examples of client station devices that are candidates for interconnection using a wireless communication network. Various specific wireless communication protocols have been developed. Examples of existing wireless communication protocols may be found in the family of standards for wireless Local Area Networks (LANs) known as IEEE 802.11, including the 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g wireless communication standards.
Generally, wireless networks include some number of access devices (referred to herein as “access points”) that provide network access to some number of wireless client devices (referred to herein as “stations”). For example, an access point in a wireless network may be connected to a wired communication network, and client stations using the wireless network are provided wireless access to the wired network through the access point.
Existing systems provide inadequate visual information describing the status and properties of devices within a wireless network. For example, access point representations in existing systems do not conveniently indicate information about the associated access point such as whether the access point is on, whether the access point can participate in a system used by a network manager to manage the wireless network, and/or what radio frequency channel the access point is currently using. Additionally, existing systems fail to provide a convenient way for access points to be removed from and reintroduced to the wireless network.
For the above reasons and others it would be desirable to have a new system for representing wireless network devices in a way that indicates access point status and properties. The system should provide convenient access to device properties not reflected in a top level graphical representation, to enable quick understanding access point operation with respect to other devices. The system should also provide a convenient way for a network manager to conveniently determine whether devices are active or in a standby mode.